This invention relates to apparatus for extruding plastic netting or the like.
More particularly, this invention is concerned with apparatus for extruding a plurality of filaments of plastic in such manner as to form a tube of netting in which the filaments overlap or intersect one another and are joined at intersections or "knots". Such extruding apparatus is shown, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,919,467, 3,607,084, 3,560,306, 3,620,883 and in East German Pat. No. 52,801. Tubular plastic netting is conventionally produced by forcing plastic melt through a series of extrusion orifices in an inner die and through an adjacent circular series of extrusion orifices in an outer die surrounding the inner die, the inner and outer dies being rotatable relative to one another. Upon cooling, the netting is oftentimes heated and stretched to orient the molecular structure of the plastic so as to enhance strength, size and heat-shrink characteristics for subsequent packaging usage.
Heretofore, conventionally extruded netting oftentimes did not have sufficient strength to withstand subsequent stretching operations. Also, in the extrusion of prior netting, the intersections per se were stretched to such an extent as to result in unsatisfactory netting when used in subsequent packaging operations.